Miami Fires Randy Shannon, Who Do They Get to Replace Him?

Randy Shannon’s talents are no longer required in South Beach. Miami has fired its head coach after a 23-20 overtime loss at home to South Florida dropped the team to 7-5. He didn’t even survive the evening. The 27,000 fans who showed up to the 73,000-seat venue to witness the spectacle said all that was needed.

The Hurricane’s top caliber opposition – Ohio State, Florida State and Virginia Tech – beat them soundly, but the true culprits were the losses to Virginia and South Florida. If Miami finishes 9-3, Randy Shannon probably gets another season.

This is a shame. Shannon seems like a swell guy. He cleaned up the program. He recruited very well, but, at an elite pedigree school such as Miami, results are demanded. Shannon won seven games in his fourth season, with 11 or 12 win talent. That’s not good enough. Like his mentor Dave Wannstedt at Pitt, Miami’s issue always seemed to be the coaching. Maybe he would do better at a more modest program, such as Minnesota?

Who replaces Shannon? The process should be interesting. In some respects it’s an elite job, but it doesn’t pay especially well and the fickle fans can make it feel like a more high-profile Stanford.

Miami went for assistants hiring Shannon and Coker. Guessing Mark Whipple won’t be first on the list and they go for an already established coach. There have been Gruden rumors floating around. Some of the same names from 2006 may come back into the mix. With JoePa returning for yet another season, does Greg Schiano take the opportunity granted to him? Mike Leach is in Key West and available. Rich Rodriguez may be on the market. Mark Richt is an alumnus.